U.S. to Send 500 Additional Troops to Iraq

President Barack Obama and his administration are currently in the works of issuing a memorandum that could see the deployment of 500 additional troops in Iraq, inherently for the sole purpose of training Iraqi troops a senior administrator told CNN late Tuesday.

Some are skeptical about the true catalyst behind the additional forces, who are there to “Directly train–but not arm–Sunni tribes” while others suggest the added troops will be ascertained for other purposes such as air support, security, or medical assistance.

Currently, according to CNN, there are 3,050 U.S. forces in Iraq–with 2,250 of them devoted to supporting Iraqi security forces, 800 protecting U.S. personnel and facilities, 450 training Iraqi troops, and 200 in advising and assisting roles.

General Martin Dempsey, the joint chief of staff chairman, divulged to reporters Obama’s reminiscent words to all his military officials, which read:

“Take a look at what we’ve learned over the last eight months in the train-and-equip program and make recommendations to him on whether there are capabilities that we may want to provide to the Iraqis to actually make them more capable.”

If anything is perturbing about the plan moving forward in respect to the Middle East, it’s the lack of one.

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